At the end of the third quarter for 2013, Superior Walls of America reported a 16 percent increase in year-to-date sales over the same January through September timeframe in 2012. And, that number increases to a 24 percent increase over sales seen for the precast concrete manufacturer during the same timeframe in 2011.
"This has been an exceptionally good year for our company with significant growth gains in several geographic pockets across the country," said Jim Costello, president of Superior Walls. “In the Midwest our sales have increased 45 percent over the same time period for 2012. Virginia has seen a sales increase of 38 percent over last year and North Carolina has seen a 30 percent increase. These numbers are growing every month, which is a sure indicator that housing starts in these markets are on the rise."
Licensees of Superior Walls of America manufacture precast concrete panels at facilities across the country that are used to form foundations for new construction homes and commercial projects. The Superior Walls insulated precast concrete wall systems have earned the National Green Building Standard Green Certified Product designation by Home Innovation Research Labs (formerly the NAHB Research Center). For homeowners, the benefits of Superior Walls foundations systems are substantial. The energy-efficient walls help lower energy costs and reduce energy leakage while providing increased living space in a comfortable setting.
In Michigan, where sales of Superior Walls products have increased almost 50 percent over the same timeframe as last year, David Van Baren believes there's a logical reason for such fast and impressive growth.
"Michigan was one of the first states to go into a recession several years ago, and now it appears to be one of the first states to come out of it," said Van Baren, president of Great Lakes Superior Walls. "While there are hot spots in the Grand Rapids and Traverse City areas, the entire state—and actually most of the Midwest—is seeing positive growth. I expect this acceleration of sales will increase through the end of 2013 and into 2014."
Throughout the state of Virginia builders have been "back to business" in 2013 with single family permits rising into the double digits.
"Our phones literally stopped ringing in the last quarter of 2008 when the recession hit, but the calls are now flooding in again," said Jim Avery, vice president of Superior Walls of Central Virginia, Inc. "The custom builder market we had been servicing dried up during the housing market collapse. Now we're seeing that those builders who survived the downturn have again started new building projects.
"One of the primary reasons we have experienced solid growth in 2013 is that loyal customers are returning to us. We've also added in new builder customers during this prolonged housing recession. It's a good feeling to see sales throughout Virginia grow to almost 40 percent more than what they were at the same time last year."